The Shanghai Taxi Driver's MBA Lecture

The following is a popular blog post by Run Liu (劉潤) on March 15, 2006:

[in translation]  The Taxi Driver Taught Me An MBA Lesson

I needed to go from Xujiahui to the airport, so I hurriedly concluded a meeting and I was looking for a taxi in front of the Meiluo building.  A taxi driver saw me and very professionally came in a straight line and stopped right in front of me.  Thus followed the story that astonished me greatly as if I had attended a lively MBA course.  In order to faithfully preserve the intent of the taxi driver, I have tried to reproduce his original words according to my memory.

"Where do you want to go?  Good, the airport.  At Xujiahui, I loved to get business in front of the Meiluo building.  Over here, I only work two places: Meiluo building (美羅) and Junyao building (均瑤).  Did you know?  Before I picked you up, I circled around Meiluo building twice before I saw you!  People who come out of office building are definitely not going to some place nearby ..."

"Oh?  You have a method!"  I agreed.

"A taxi driver must also have scientific methods," he said.  I was surprised and I got curious: "What scientific methods?"

"I have to know statistics.  I have made detailed calculations.  Let me tell you.  I operate the car 17 hours a day, and my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB ..."

"How did you arrive at that?" I asked

"You calculate.  I have to pay 380 RMB to the company each day for the car.  The gas is about 210 RMB.  I work 17 hours per day.  On an hourly basis, the fixed cost is the 22 RMB that I give to the taxi company and an average of 12.5 RMB per hour in gasoline expenses.  Isn't that 34.5 RMB?"  I was a bit surprised.  I have taken taxis for ten years, but this is the first time that a taxi driver has calculated the costs this way.  Previously, the taxi drivers all tell me that the cost per kilometer was 0.3 RMB in addition to the total company fee.

"Costs should not be calculated on a per-kilometer basis.  It should be calculated on an hourly basis.  You see, each meter has a 'review' function through which you can see the details of the day.  I have done a data analysis.  The averarge time gap between customers is seven minutes.  If I started counting the costs when someone gets in, it is 10 RMB for about 10 minutes.  That means each 10 RMB customer takes 17 minutes of time, which costs 9.8 RMB (=34.5 x 17 / 60).  This is not making money!  If we say that customers who want to go to Pudong, Hangzhou or Qingpu are like meals, then a 10 RMB customer is not even a bite of food.  You can only say that this is just a sprinkle of MSG."

Great!  This driver did not sound like a taxi driver.  He seemed more like an accountant.  "So what you do then?"  I was even more interested and I continued my questioning.  It looked like I was going to learn something new on the way to the airport.

"You must not let the customer lead you all over the place.  You decide what you want to do based upon the location, time and customer."  I was very surprised, but this sounded significant.  "Someone said that the taxi driving is a profession that depends on luck.  I don't think so.  You have to stand in the position of the customer and consider things from the customer's perspective."  This sounded very professional, and very much like many business management teachers who say "put yourself in others' shoes."

"Let me give you an example.  You are at the entrance to a hospital.  There is someone holding some medicine and there is someone else holding a wash basin.  Which person will you pick up?"  I thought about it and I said that I didn't know.

"You take the one with the wash basin.  If you have a minor complaint that you want to be examined and to get some medicine, you don't usually go to a faraway hospital.  Anyone who is carrying a wash basin has just been discharged from the hospital.  When people enter the hospital, some of them die.  Today, someone on the second floor dies.  Tomorrow, someone on the third floor dies.  Those who make it out of the hospital usually have a feeling of having been given a second life and they recognize the meaning of life again -- health is the most important thing.  So on that day, that person told me, "Go ... go to Qingpu."  He did not even blink.  Would you say that he wanted to take a taxi to People's Plaza to transfer to the Qingpu line subway?  Absolutely not!"

I began to admire him.

"Let me give you another example.  That day at People's Plaza, three people were waving at me.  One was a young woman who had just finished shopping and was holding some small bags.  Another was a young couple who were out for a stroll.  The third one was a man who wore a silk shirt and a down jacket and holding a notebook computer bag.  I spent three seconds looking at each person and I stopped in front of the man without hesitation.  When the man got in, he said: 'Yannan Elevated Highway.  South North Elevated Highway ...'  Before even finishing, he could not help but ask, 'Why did you stop in front of me without hesitating?  There were two people in front.  They wanted to get on as well.  I was too embarrassed to fight with them.'  I replied, 'It is around noon and just a dozen or so minutes before one o'clock.  That young woman must have slipped out at noon to buy something and I guess that her company must be nearby.  That couple are tourists because they are not holding anything and they are not going to travel far.  You are going out on business.  You are holding a notebook computer bag, so I can tell that this is business.  If you are going out at this time, I guess that it would not be too close.'  The man said, 'You are right.  I'm going to Baoshan.'"

"Are those people wearing pajamas in front of supermarkets or subway stations going to travel far?  Are they going to the airport?  The airport is not going to let them enter."

That makes sense!  I was liking this more and more.

"Many drivers complain that business is tough and the price of gas has gone up.  They are trying to pin the cause down on other people.  If you keep pinning the cause on other people, you will never get any better.  You must look at yourself to see where the problem is."  This sounds very familiar.  It seems like "If you cannot change the world, then you should change yourself" or perhaps a pirated copy of Steven Corey's "Circles of Influence and Concern."  "One time, on Nandan Road, someone flagged me down and wanted to go to Tianlin.  Later on, someone else flagged me down on Nandan Road and he also wanted to go to Tianlin.  So I asked, 'How come all you people who come out on Nandan Road want to go to Tianlin?'  He said, 'There is a public bus depot at Nandan Road.  We all take the public bus from Pudong to there, and then we take the taxi to Tianlin.  So I understood.  For example, you look at the road that we just passed.  There are no offices, no hotels, nothing.  Just a public bus station.  Those people who flag down taxis there are mostly people who just got off the public bus, and they look for the shortest road for a taxi.  People who flag down taxis here will usually ride not more than 15 RMB."

"Therefore, I say that the attitude determines everything!"  I have heard dozens of company CEO's say that, but this was the first time that I heard a taxi driver say that.

"We need to use scientific methods and statistics to conduct business.  Those people who wait at the subway exits every day for business will never make money.  How are you going to provide for your wife and kids at 500 RMB a month?  This is murder?  This is slowly murdering your whole family.  You must arm yourself with knowledge.  You have to learn knowledge to become a smart person.  A smart person learns knowledge in order to become a very smart person.  A very smart person learns knowledge in order to become a genius."

"One time, a person wanted a taxi in order to get to the train station.  I asked him how he wanted to go.  He told me how to get there.  I said that was slow.  I said to get on the elevated highway and go this other way.  He said that it was a longer way.  I said, 'No problem.  You have experience because you go that way frequently.  It costs you 50 RMB.  If you go my way, I will turn off the meter when it reaches 50 RMB.  You can just pay me 50 RMB.  Anything more is mine.  If you go your way, it will take 50 minutes.  If I go my way, it will take 25 minutes.'  So in the end, we went my way.  We traveled an additional four kilometers but 25 minutes quicker.  I accepted only 50 RMB.  The customer was very delighted for saving about 10 RMB.  This extra four kilometers cost me just over 1 RMB in gas.  So I have swapped 1 RMB for 25 extra minutes of my time.  As I just said, my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB.  It was quite worthwhile for me!"

"In a public taxi company, an ordinary driver takes three to four thousand RMB home per month.  The good driver can get around five thousand.  The top driver can get seven thousand RMB.  Out of the 20,000 drivers, there are about two to three who can make more than 8,000 RMB a month.  I am one of those two or three.  Furthermore, it is very stable without too much fluctuation."

Great!  By this point, I admired this taxi driver more and more.

"I often say that I am a happy driver.  Some people say, 'That's because you earn a lot of money.  Of course, you must be happy.'  I tell them, 'You are wrong.  This is because I have a happy and active mind, and that is why I make a lot of money.'"

What a wonderful way to put it!

"You have to appreciate the beauty that your work brings.  Stuck in a traffic jam at People's Plaza, many drivers complain, 'Oh, there's a traffic jam again!  What rotten luck!'  You must not be like that.  You should try to experience the beauty of the city.  There are many pretty girls passing by.  There are many tall modern buildings; although you cannot afford them, you can still enjoy them with an appreciative look.  While driving to the airport, you can look at the greenery on both sides.  In the winter, it is white.  How beautiful!  Look at the meter -- it is more than 100 RMB.  That is even more beautiful!  Each job has its own beauty.  We need to learn how to experience that beauty in our work."

"Ten years ago, I was a general instructor at Johnson's.  Eight years ago, I had been the department manager for three different departments.  I quit because there was no point in making three or five thousand a month.  I decided to become a taxi driver.  I want to be a happy driver.  Ha ha ha ..."

When we arrived at the airport, I gave him my business card and said, "Are you interested in coming this Friday to my office and explain to the Microsoft workers about how you operate your taxi?  You can treat it as if your meter is running at 60 kilometers per hour.  I will pay you for the time that you talk to us.  Give me a call."

Then I began to write down his lively MBA lecture on the airplane.

劉潤: 出租司機給我上的MBA課  

我要從徐家匯趕去機場，於是匆匆結束了一個會議，在美羅大廈前搜索計程車。一輛大眾發現了我，非常專業的、徑直的停在我的面前。這一停，於是有了後面的這個讓我深感震撼的故事，象上了一堂生動的MBA案例課。為了忠實於這名計程車司機的原意，我憑記憶盡量重複他原來的話。

「去哪裡……好的，機場。我在徐家匯就喜歡做美羅大廈的生意。這裡我只做兩個地方。美羅大廈，均瑤大廈。你知道嗎？接到你之前，我在美羅大廈門口兜了兩圈，終於被我看到你了！從寫字樓里出來的，肯定去的不近~~~」

「哦？你很有方法嘛！」我附和了一下。

「做計程車司機，也要用科學的方法。」他說。我一愣，頓時很有些興趣「什麼科學的方法？」

「要懂得統計。我做過精確的計算。我說給你聽啊。我每天開17個小時的車，每小時成本34.5元……」

「怎麼算出來的？」我追問。

「你算啊，我每天要交380元，油費大概210元左右。一天17小時，平均每小時固定成本22元，交給公司，平均每小時12.5元油費。這是不是就是34.5元？」，我有些驚訝。我打了10年的車，第一次聽到有計程車司機這麼計算成本。以前的司機都和我說，每公里成本0.3元，另外每天交多少錢之類的。

「成本是不能按公里算的，只能按時間算。你看，計價器有一個「檢查」功能。你可以看到一天的詳細記錄。我做過數據分析，每次載客之間的空駛時間平均為7分鐘。如果上來一個起步價，10元，大概要開10分鐘。也就是每一個10元的客人要花17分鐘的成本，就是9.8元。不賺錢啊！如果說做浦東、杭州、青浦的客人是吃飯，做10元的客人連吃菜都算不上，只能算是撒了些味精。」

強！這位師傅聽上去真不象計程車司機，到象是一位成本核算師。「那你怎麼辦呢？」我更感興趣了，繼續問。看來去機場的路上還能學到新東西。

「千萬不能被客戶拉了滿街跑。而是通過選擇停車的地點，時間，和客戶，主動地決定你要去的地方。」我非常驚訝，這聽上去很有意思。「有人說做計程車司機是靠運氣吃飯的職業。我以為不是。你要站在客戶的位置上，從客戶的角度去思考。」這句話聽上去很專業，有點象很多商業管理培訓老師說的「put yourself into others' shoes.」

「給你舉個例子，醫院門口，一個拿著葯的，一個拿著臉盆的，你帶哪一個。」我想了想，說不知道。

「你要帶那個拿臉盆的。一般人病小痛的到醫院看一看，拿點葯，不一定會去很遠的醫院。拿著臉盆打車的，那是出院的。住院哪有不死人的？今天二樓的誰死了，明天三樓又死了一個。從醫院出來的人通常會有一種重獲新生的感覺，重新認識生命的意義，健康才最重要。那天這個說：走，去青浦。眼睛都不眨一下。你說他會打車到人民廣場，再去做青浦線嗎？絕對不會！」

我不由得開始佩服。

「再給你舉個例子。那天人民廣場，三個人在前面招手。一個年輕女子，拿著小包，剛買完東西。還有一對青年男女，一看就是逛街的。第三個是個裡面穿絨襯衫的，外面羽絨服的男子，拿著筆記本包。我看一個人只要3秒鐘。我毫不猶豫地停在這個男子面前。這個男的上車后說：延安高架、南北高架~~~還沒說後面就忍不住問，為什麼你毫不猶豫地開到我面前？前面還有兩個人，他們要是想上車，我也不好意思和他們搶。我回答說，中午的時候，還有十幾分鐘就1點了。那個女孩子是中午溜出來買東西的，估計公司很近；那對男女是遊客，沒拿什麼東西，不會去很遠；你是出去辦事的，拿著筆記本包，一看就是公務。而且這個時候出去，估計應該不會近。那個男的就說，你說對了，去寶山。」

「那些在超市門口，地鐵口打車，穿著睡衣的人可能去很遠嗎？可能去機場嗎？機場也不會讓她進啊。」

有道理！我越聽越有意思。

「很多司機都抱怨，生意不好做啊，油價又漲了啊，都從別人身上找原因。我說，你永遠從別人身上找原因，你永遠不能提高。從自己身上找找看，問題出在哪裡。」這話聽起來好熟，好像是「如果你不能改變世界，就改變你自己」，或者Steven Corvey的「影響圈和關注圈」的翻版。「有一次，在南丹路一個人攔車，去田林。後來又有一次，一個人在南丹路攔車，還是去田林。我就問了，怎麼你們從南丹路出來的人，很多都是去田林呢？人家說，在南丹路有一個公共汽車總站，我們都是坐公共汽車從浦東到這裡，然後搭車去田林的。我恍然大悟。比如你看我們開過的這條路，沒有寫字樓，沒有酒店，什麼都沒有，只有公共汽車站，站在這裡攔車的多半都是剛下公共汽車的，再選擇一條最短路經打車。在這裡攔車的客戶通常不會高於15元。」

「所以我說，態度決定一切！」我聽十幾個總裁講過這句話，第一次聽計程車司機這麼說。

「要用科學的方法，統計學來做生意。天天等在地鐵站口排隊，怎麼能賺到錢？每個月就賺500塊錢怎麼養活老婆孩子？這就是在謀殺啊！慢性謀殺你的全家。要用知識武裝自己。學習知識可以把一個人變成聰明的人，一個聰明的人學習知識可以變成很聰明的人。一個很聰明的人學習知識，可以變成天才。」

「有一次一個人打車去火車站，問怎麼走。他說這麼這麼走。我說慢，上高架，再這麼這麼走。他說，這就繞遠了。我說，沒關係，你經常走你有經驗，你那麼走50塊，你按我的走法，等里程錶50塊了，我就翻表。你只給50快就好了，多的算我的。按你說的那麼走要50分鐘，我帶你這麼走只要25分鐘。最後，按我的路走，多走了4公里，快了25分鐘，我只收了50塊。乘客很高興，省了10元錢左右。這4公里對我來說就是1塊多錢的油錢。我相當於用1元多錢買了25分鐘。我剛才說了，我一小時的成本34.5塊，我多合算啊！」

「在大眾公司，一般一個司機3、4千，拿回家。做的好的大概5千左右。頂級的司機大概每月能有7000。全大眾2萬個司機，大概只有2-3個司機，萬里挑一，每月能拿到8000以上。我就是這2-3個人中間的一個。而且很穩定，基本不會大的波動。」

太強了！到此為止，我越來越佩服這個計程車司機。

「我常常說我是一個快樂的車夫。有人說，你是因為賺的錢多，所以當然快樂。我對他們說，你們正好錯了。是因為我有快樂、積極的心態，所以賺的錢多。」

說的多好啊！

「要懂得體味工作帶給你的美。堵在人民廣場的時候，很多司機抱怨，又堵車了！真是倒霉。千萬不要這樣，用心體會一下這個城市的美，外面有很多漂亮的女孩子經過，非常現代的高樓大廈，雖然買不起，但是卻可以用欣賞的眼光去享受。開車去機場，看著兩邊的綠色，冬天是白色的，多美啊。再看看里程錶，100多了，就更美了！每一樣工作都有她美麗的地方，我們要懂得從工作中體會這種美麗。」

「我10年前是強生公司的總教練。8年前在公司作過三個不同部門的部門經理。後來我不幹了，一個月就3、5千塊，沒意思。就主動來做司機。我願意做一個快樂的車夫。哈哈哈哈。」

到了機場，我給他留了一張名片，說：「你有沒有興趣這個星期五，到我辦公室，給微軟的員工講一講你怎麼開計程車的？你就當打著表，60公里一小時，你講多久，我就付你多少錢。給我電話。」

我迫不及待的在飛機上記錄下他這堂生動的MBA課。

============================

[注一] 關於真實性。事情絕對是真實的，並且我盡最大努力忠實於這名司機的原意，包括數字、選詞、語氣、構句等。除了我記憶力所限不能100%精確外，基本重現了當時的場景。我沒有「潤色」，因為我以為他的感染力比我要大。

[注二] 關於星期五。我發出了誠摯的私人邀請，希望他能來給我們做一場演講。但這要尊重司機本人的意願，如果他並不願意、或者不感覺合適而未能成行，只能表示遺憾了。希望文章能夠彌補希望參加的人的一些遺憾，也不枉我寫了這麼長。

While this particular story has become famous through numerous links, there is actually a follow-up story on the taxi driver.
Shanghai's 8000 RMB monthly salaried taxi driver was attacked by colleagues.

[in translation]

"A man doesn't want to famous just like a pig does want to be fat and strong."  The newly famous taxi driver Zang Qin (臧勤) experienced this saying in a personal way.  Faced with the doubts, misunderstanding and even personal attacks by his colleagues, this "happy driver" has been living in puzzlement, irritation and helplessness without the peace and stability of his former life.

Last night, he told this reporter about his inner grievances: "Some colleagues only read that I made 8,000 RMB but they did not read about my hardship and efforts; I shared my 'business wisdom' over more than 10 years with my colleagues, so that all 'taxi brothers' can become rich.  But I ended up setting off a fire that burned me.  If I knew that this was going to happen, wouldn't it be better if I kept my mouth shut and made money quietly?"

Ever since the "legendary experience" of the "8,000 RMB taxi brother" was revealed by the media, Zang Qin came to the attention of some colleagues and rumors began to circulate about him.  "Originally, the management wanted to lower the requirements for the drivers, but this policy was shelved after he became famous."  "He must have some tricks, because he could not possibly make that much money in a month."  The "stories" were getting weirder and weirder.  "Some individual colleagues even said that if they should see my car on the road, they would not hesitate to ram me," said Zang Qin in fear.

"Driving a taxi is a high-risk profession.  I appreciate the work pressure and living conditions faced by my colleagues."  This was the reason why Zang Qin was willing to take the risk of reducing his own income by revealing his service techniques and "business experience" so that "my colleagues can earn more money in the same amount of time."  But Zang Qin did not understand why certain colleagues did not want to learn from this customer selection method and service technique and prefer instead to stick to the dead-end rule of "depend on luck and the weather."

After Zang Qin became famous overnight, many famous Chinese and overseas companies and higher institutions of learning invited him to "exchange" with "lecture fees" of 1,000 to 2,000 RMB.  "I said before that I don't want to be famous and I don't want money.  Since they respected me, I thought that I should represent the Shanghai 'taxi brothers' to meet these big companies and their workers.  I want my colleagues to be respected and I want to elevate our social standing."  Zang Qin is perplexed that those people outside his industry respected his work enthusiasm, happiness, service technique and professionalism and considered a motivational force for their own jobs, whereas some of his own colleagues only cared about how much he made and did not pay too much attention as to how he manages to earn 8,000 RMB a month.

Zang Qing hopes that the citizens and passengers will have a better understanding of the taxi drivers.  He said sincerely that a monthly salary of 8,000 RMB is an exception in the entire industry and he does not want his own high income affect the interests of all 'taxi brothers.'  "After all, the reality is that many 'taxi drivers' are looking for other kinds of jobs.  They need the attention and care of society."

There is an unanswered question: If every taxi driver follows Zang's method, how will anyone ever get a taxi at the subway station?

YA..his method is right.  Looking for niche and selection of customer.
All these takes times and effort, trial and error methods.
Thus, make him a successful driver, how about tips???  Bringing customers to special night life's places??  
Very interesting article.